The facts are that the league is mostly NOT white now, in an integrated era. Name the top 20 players in the history of the league? Oh that's what I thought dude.

African Americans are embraced now, they didn't even have the civil rights act when Wilt started playing. You don't have one statistic on your side you are a biased Celtics fan.

Lol dude the NBA became legitimate around the time most of the country became reasonable. AKA after the civil rights movement, Jordan's era has the right demographics deal with it.>>>>>>>>>

Hey, nobody cares if you like baseball.

So, because baseball is dominated less so by athletic ability---it doesn't matter whether blacks were playing? OK.

And your beef with the pre-Civil Rights Movement NBA is really that it wasn't as athletic, as say, Jordan's era which started in 1985 (and had the 'right demographics' even though it was pre-European & Asian invasion)? OK.

The Elo player rater on this site listed 4 white players among the top 20 players ever. Let's say that's reasonable (I don't really care)------that doesn't mean that the best basketball players in the world in the 50s and 60s had to be 80% non-white for it to be a legitimate league.

Blacks were allowed to play starting in 1950. Was there some seismic shift in blacks invading the NBA right after the Civil Rights Act was signed? Really?

When did the ABA begin? Was it during the Civil Rights Movement? Did the splitting of the talent between leagues compromise the strength of the NBA------even though 'the country became reasonable' with the Civil Rights Movement? (Nevermind that blacks----and you ARE talking about blacks----were allowed to play since 1950 in the NBA). In other words, was the NBA legit following the Civil Rights Movement... or did it still have to wait until after the ABA/ NBA merger?

Hey, here's a statistic 'on my side': the number of players you named that should have been playing against Wilt but were barred from the NBA because they were black is ZERO.

Superb job by you with that one, btw.

Also, seeing as the NBA is more athletic now than it was in 1985, is it just a matter of time before Jordan is viewed as playing in a relatively athletically compromised NBA-------thus eventually being thrown in the bin of the 'not all-time greats'? Like Russell?

You biased Celtic-hater, you. Lol.

Have to disagree; Olajuwon's stats look slightly better in career stats. His skill lot more fun to watch than Shaq's size.

@ #21:

Any clear advantage O'Neal has (FG%) largely due to his size, and shooting almost exclusively from up close after having the ball passed to him. Olajuwon had much better range.

Also, Olajuwon almost tripled O'Neal's steals (total or avg), and quite a few more blocks as well.

@ #55:

head-to-heads in this instance can be deceptive.

One, Hakeem, is 9 years older and 10 of those 20 reg. season meetings came after Hakeem turned 35.

Two, in the link you give, Shaq leads 14-6 life-time, but it doesn't include any playoff games: 1995 HOU 4-0 ORL, and 1999 LAL 3-1 HOU (in 1999, Hakeem was 36).

So reg sesaon: Shaq 14-6; in playoff, Hakeem 5-3; overall, Shaq 17-11.

Half their meetings (reg or playoffs), are after Hakeem turns 35.

Well, they turned up Mutombo and Yao. It's hard to say what Yao could have been if he weren't Bill Walton's illegimate son, and Mutombo was one of the greatest defensive players of the modern era.

Less athletic players can dominate baseball, I'm talking about basketball a much more dynamic sport without fat pitchers that stand on a mound waiting for a guy standing around with a bat.

Yes there are more HISPANIC players in baseball anyway lol. Hispanic players are the best players in the sport, and they dominate internationally anyway. Nice job messing that up.
What is it with you and how you define segregation to just one race, and only if 100% of that race is barred from the sport?

The facts are that the league is mostly NOT white now, in an integrated era. Name the top 20 players in the history of the league? Oh that's what I thought dude.

African Americans are embraced now, they didn't even have the civil rights act when Wilt started playing. You don't have one statistic on your side you are a biased Celtics fan.

On this basis buddy: http://bkref.com/tiny/hQDAZ

Shaq is better than Hakeem.

As for the other point:

So Duncan was not willing to guard him, and acknowledged Robinson as a better defender? Not a great defense. Or Duncan was willing to admit he has a bad matchup against Shaq?

Shaq handles Tim Duncan just fine.

http://bkref.com/tiny/RlTH6

The figures: In 2011, it's down to 8.5% blacks playing MLB, down from 10% last year or the year before. In 1997 (I think) the figure was 17%. Do we have to handicap the results of MLB this year based on these figures---even though blacks are allowed to play?

In the NBA, ever since they found Olajuwon in Lagos, Nigeria, scouts have been looking for the next Akeem. It's been nearly 30 years------and they still haven't found him... and I gotta believe that at this point, there isn't a rock in any corner of the globe that hasn't been turned over looking for him.

Maybe the imagined pool of untapped talent NOT playing in the NBA has been overestimated greatly... in this era and in eras past.